Dear Kerry,My first grader really needs some “down time” when he gets home from school or else he falls apart if we do any other activities. I’ve started letting him have half an hour to curl up and watch a show. It seems to be helping. Any reason that I shouldn’t be letting him do …

The hardest part of my day used to be prying my preschooler and kindergartners arms off my legs when I had to drop them off at school. My sons’ howls of protest hurt my heart at the same time it made me wonder what I was doing wrong or what was wrong with them. All …

How does a wise parent respond when his/her youngster says, “My teacher is mean!”? Because we care deeply for our kids, there are two traps that are far too easy to slip into: Trap #1: Mary’s well-meaning mom says, “Don’t worry, honey, I’ll give her a call and get this straightened out.” Is Mary learning …

When we’ve got a seriously underachieving youngster, it’s awfully tempting to resort to taking away all sorts of things in a desperate attempt to motivate them to do their schoolwork. Sadly, this often backfires, leading the child to become even more resistant about learning. Most of us wouldn’t feel that motivated if our spouse said, …

Rex had been terrorizing the other 5th graders at school. The other kids were beginning to refuse to play anywhere near him during recess. Rex’s teacher was often convinced that he was behind most problems that happened when her back was turned. She explained it to his mother one day with, “I never see him …

After reading Parenting with Love and Logic™, Tim’s mom instituted a new bedtime policy. She told Tim that picking a sleep time was his decision. He was expected to be in his room at 8:00 each evening, but he could decide when to go to sleep. In addition to this, everyone in the family was …

Our world is getting more complex and dangerous for kids every day. How do we best protect them so that they will survive? Resist the urge to overprotect! Like vaccinations for physical disease, parents who apply Love and Logic allow their kids to develop decision-making “antibodies” by being exposed to plenty of small temptations, by …

We had been struggling to keep second grade Connor focused on his “morning school routine” list as he is a major dawdler, as most are. So one morning I realized both my husband and I were reminding him of checking his list, “Do you have your snack? Have you made your lunch? Where’s your water bottle, etc”. …

I’ve lost count of the number of phone calls I have received from frustrated educators telling about a student who appears to have no motivation for schoolwork. When I ask about the child’s home life I often hear that the family is in turmoil, or that the child has few, if any limits at home. …